Caney
Mountain is just off Highway 181, five miles north of Gainesville
in Ozark County. Its 7,899 acres of public land is administered by
the Missouri Department of Conservation. This rough country contains
creeks, springs, caves, old growth forest, glades, savanna, and some
of the steepest land in the state. The views from the high points
are breathtaking. There are roads through the refuge, as well as hiking
trails. Caney is rich in natural areas, history, and wildlife. The
1,330 acre Caney Mountain Natural Area contains Missouri's State Champion
black gum tree and ancient post oak and cedar.

Deer and turkey are common now, but in 1940, when
Caney was established, there were only 300 deer and few turkey left in
the entire state. The last recorded deer kill in the area had been in
1910. One of the first acts at Caney was to build a fence of cedar poles
and barbed wire around the entire area. This helped keep predators and
poachers out and wildlife in. Caney Mountain played a big part in the
success story of restoring deer and turkey in Missouri. A snow track census
in 1940 found ten wild turkeys in Caney. A total of twenty five turkeys
were found in the Caney Mountain region. The turkey population steadily
grew to 135 by 1945. Thirty deer were trapped in Skaggs Ranch near Forsyth
and released in Caney. By 1945 there were 175 deer inside the fence. Some
of these animals were trapped and released around the state to help rebuild
populations. Today Caney is known for its special hunts. There is a black
powder deer hunt in October, and a spring archery hunt for turkey.

Caney
Mountain has two historic buildings. A log cabin was built in 1941 to
be the home of resident biologist Starker Leopold. The famous biologist
and writer Aldo Leopold, Starker's father, visited there. The pine logs
used to build the cabin were cut east of Brixey. In recent years, termites
have eaten some of the foundation and the floor boards have been removed.
The staff at Caney have replacement pine logs curing, and will replace
the floor.

The other log cabin sits near the manager's residence by
the entry road. It was built in the 1880s by Robert Grisham, a peddler
and farmer. This cabin was moved to this site by area manager Joe Morrison.
Many Morrison descendants still live in the area.

Because of frequent fires, the forest was not as dense in
presettlement times as it is now. Open woodlands were common on sunny
south slopes and ridgetops. Savannas, where widely spaced trees grew over
a carpet of grasses and wildflowers, were widespread. Glades, now often
overgrown with cedar, occur on places where thin soils prohibit easy growth
of hardwoods. Glades were also kept open by fire.

Indians, and early settlers, burned the forest to keep it
open to hunt game. Fire kept grass and forbs for grazing wildlife growing
on the sunny ground under the widely spaced trees. The grass and broad-leaved
plants carried lightning - and human-set fires, across large areas. You
can see restored savannas and glades in Caney Mountain Conservation Area.
Carefully controlled periodic burning is returning savanas and glades
to their presettlement appearance.